Columbia University shifts classes remotely after a wave of protests on campus. :NPR

Columbia University announced that all classes will be remote on Monday in an attempt to “reduce bad blood” amid rising tensions on campus over Israel’s war in Gaza.

“The decibel of our disagreements has only increased in recent days,” school president Minouche Shafik said in a statement. statement. “We need a reset.”

The shift to virtual learning comes just days after dozens of Columbia students were suspended and arrested over a protest camp on the school’s lawn, calling for the university to divest from companies with ties to Israel.

Meanwhile, on Monday morning at Yale University, agents arrested students who had also set up tents on campus urging the university to divest. The Yale Police Department told NPR that between 40 and 45 people were arrested.

These flashpoints are the latest in what has been a months-long stretch of unrest on university campuses since the Hamas attack on October 1. 7 attacks against Israel. The attackers killed 1,200 people and took about 250 more hostage, Israel said.

The subsequent Israeli invasion of Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, two-thirds of whom were women and children, according to local health officials. Israel says around 100 hostages remain in Gaza.

Columbia University rabbi advises Jewish students to stay home

On Wednesday, Columbia students who oppose Israel’s war and blockade of Gaza set up camp on the school’s south lawn in what was called the “Gaza Solidarity Camp.” It happened on the same day that Shafik proved to Congress that anti-Semitism was a serious problem on campus and would not be tolerated.

The next day, Shafik called the New York Police Department. In a statement, she saying that the demonstration posed “a clear and present danger to the substantial functioning of the University.” He added that students received multiple warnings that they were violating campus protocol. More than 100 people were arrested.

Tensions remained heated on campus over the weekend. On Sunday, Elie Buechler, a rabbi who works in Columbia, advised Jewish students to return home and stay home, citing safety concerns. His message arrived one day before the start of the Jewish holiday of Passover.

“It pains me deeply to say that I strongly recommend that you return home as soon as possible and remain home until the reality on and around campus has improved dramatically,” Buechler wrote in a group chat with students.

He also expressed disappointment in the administration’s response to anti-Semitism on campus. According to the ViewerAs students played Israeli music and waved the Israeli flag at a demonstration Saturday night, an individual approached with a sign that read “Al Qasam’s Next Targets.” (The Al-Qassam Brigades are the military wing of Hamas, responsible for numerous attacks against Israel.)

Columbia University did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.

Students from schools across the United States organize camps in solidarity

The arrests themselves drew swift criticism on and off campus.

The editorial board of the student newspaper, the Columbia Daily Viewerhe wrote that the university had ignored “countless pleas to meaningfully engage with students, choosing instead to continue down a path of surveillance, oppression, and authoritarian policies.”

The Columbia and Barnard College chapter of the American Association of University Professors said it condemned the arrest of students participating in peaceful protests.

“We demand that all suspensions and charges from Barnard College and Columbia University be dismissed immediately,” the chapter said in a statement Saturday.

In recent days, students from other schools set up their own protest camp, largely in solidarity with the Columbia students who were arrested. They also called for divestment from Israel.

According to news reports and social media posts, camps have been organized at Yale, New York University, MIT, Tufts University, Emerson College, and The New School based in New York City.

At Yale, about 40 tents and hundreds of protesters occupied Beinecke Plaza in the center of campus starting Friday night, according to the Yale Daily News. The student newspaper also reported Sunday night that the demonstration “remained peaceful.”

On Monday morning, a Yale spokesperson said YDN“The university made the decision to arrest those individuals who would not leave the Plaza with the safety of the entire Yale community in mind and to allow access to university facilities for all members of our community.”

Universities repress student activists

Columbia and Yale are not the only schools where leaders are taking action against students protesting on their campuses.

Earlier this month, three Vanderbilt University students were expelled after a group of student protesters broke into the university president’s office, injuring a campus security guard, according to the Vanderbilt Scammers student newspaper.

Last week, the University of Southern California cancelled his commencement speech with valedictorian due to unspecified security concerns. At the time, valedictorian Asna Tabassum, a first-generation American Muslim, sparked controversy with her social media posts related to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

“Over the past few days, the discussion surrounding the selection of our valedictorian has taken on an alarming tone,” Andrew T. Guzmam, USC provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, said in a statement Monday.

On Saturday, the University of Pennsylvania announced that close the student group Penn Students Against the Occupation of Palestine for failing to “comply with policies governing student organizations at Penn.” UPenn did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment.